


Hotel of 'Horror'

by TimidMarshmallow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Comfort, Holding Hands, Spooky, but nothing too horrifying, but with chocobros, going for sort of a scooby doo vibe, no hurt, spoilers i guess, technically AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 16:58:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10391538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: The party takes shelter from a storm in a hotel... that's not on the map?Seriously, what is going on in this hotel?





	1. Chapter 1

The storm clouds overhead promised trouble. 

"Ignis, can you put the roof up?" Nothing was falling yet, but Prompto couldn't shake the eerie feeling that something was going to go wrong. He hoped having the car become an enclosed space would alleviate some of the unsettling feeling growing in his stomach. 

Ignis glanced at the passengers' seat. One look at the fidgeting gunner was all he needed before raising the car's top. "What's wrong?" 

"Does anyone else feel... nervous? Like something is off?"

"Aren't you always nervous? That's like, fifty percent of your personality." Gladio leaned forward and poked Prompto's shoulder. 

"No, it's not! I'm being serious, something feels weird." 

"It does seem a bit chillier than usual, but that's about it. Should I turn on the heat?" Ignis switched it onto the lowest setting without waiting for an answer. 

Prompto sighed. Maybe it was just him? He looked back at Noctis, who was sleeping and had missed all of the conversation. 

They were several miles north of the Malmalam Thicket, and Ignis wanted to have them at the campsite nearby in time for dinner. It didn't look like that would happen, as it was already 4:30 and the campground was at least another hour away. 

An odd building caught their attention. It was three stories high and looked ancient. The windows and shutters seemed to sag, like they would fall off the large manor. It was strange, they hadn't seen anything there before, and the building was too large to have been overlooked. 

"What's that up ahead? Prompto, check the map. I don't remember there being any buildings here last time we drove through here." The advisor slowed the car. 

"Uh... there's nothing on the map?"

The Regalia cautiously parked in front of the mystery building. Gladio read the decrepit sign by the mailbox. 

"Hotel." How informative. 

The sky opened up. "Well, I guess we're staying here." The shield reached over to wake up Noctis as Prompto began to protest. 

"This looks like something out of a horror movie... You're not serious, right? Ignis?" His eyes danced between the older men. 

"It does look sketchy, but it would provide better protection from this storm than our tent..." Ignis pushed up his glasses and sighed. "This will have to do. The campground is still a bit of a drive away and the weather appears to be getting worse. Let's hurry inside."

-o-

Thunder boomed as soon as the dripping party entered the door. The entrance hall looked like it had seen better days, dust covered what was once quite opulent. The walls held fading paintings with aged gold frames, and the now threadbare carpet must've been plush in its prime. 

"Not ominous at all, right guys?" Prompto shuffled closer to Noctis. 

The king was surprisingly unperturbed about the entire situation. "Prom, just because this place looks spooky doesn't mean it is. We've been through how many dungeons and we're still standing, right?" He yawned. "Come on, let's check in at that desk."

"Check in with who? There's no one here." Gladio stepped in front of everyone to see better. The entrance hall was deserted and dim light from broken sconces washed over everything. They approached the front desk. 

Noctis lifted a small leaf of paper off of the ginormous guest book. There was a tiny key next to the tome. Dainty cursive stared back at him. "Safety has been guaranteed, a prayer answered." 

"A prayer answered?" Prompto picked up the delicate key and read the engraving. "3A."

Ignis looked at the wall behind the desk where similar keys were hanging. "The note is oddly worded, but it would appear that this room is available for use. Let's sign in and leave the gil here, the attendant will likely return." 

With that they turned right and walked to the stairway Gladio had found while they read the intriguing note. The stairs whined with each step, and Prompto's unease grew. 

"Why would a room key for the third floor be left out? All the hooks had keys hanging on them. Surely the hotel management would want newcomers to fill the lower floors first?" Ignis pondered this aloud as they climbed. He was really just talking to distract the gunner, who was anxiously biting his lip. "Well, I suppose that the higher floors would have more luxurious suites. If no one else is using them, why not fill them first..." 

"This room better be luxurious. All these stairs are freaking ridiculous." Noctis grumbled, climbing was taking too long. In fact, it felt like they had climbed more than three flights already. He checked the engraved plate at the top of this flight. 

'Second Floor'. No, that couldn't be right. They had walked up at least four flights of creaking stairs... 

"Guys? How long have we been walking?" Ignis checked his watch and answered the king. "Two minutes... Curious. I could've sworn it was longer." 

"So it's not just me. Okay, we definitely should NOT split up. That's how everyone gets murdered in the movies." Prompto gripped the banister tighter. 

Gladio snorted. "Why is everything such a big production with you?"

Ignis cut off whatever Prompto's defense was. "He's right. We shouldn't split up. We haven't seen anybody else here. Who knows if the other guests, if there are any, are friendly. And where are the staff members? Surely we should have passed room service, or a janitor?"

Before they could dwell on this they finally reached the 'Third Floor' plate. The party walked through the hall. 

-o- 

Luxurious was too cheap a word to describe the suite laying behind door 3A. It was positively palatial. It was positively confusing. This room sparkled, everything in it looked freshly swept and laundered. Bright light from the chandelier glistened off of all the reflective surfaces. There wasn't a speck of dust in sight. It was a huge contrast to the rest of what they had seen of the hotel, which had been in various stages of decay. 

At first the men were wary, but as they explored the quarters they became a tad excited. Prompto took a picture. 

There was an enormous bed in the middle of the room. "Is this supposed to be a behemoth's bed?" Gladio lay down on it and he looked tiny compared to the ocean of blankets. Noctis flopped down next to him. "That's it. I'm never getting up. This is soooo soft...."

The bathroom had a tub the size of a small pond. Prompto tested the knobs. Hot water began to fill the tub. "I call first bath!" 

Ignis was exploring the kitchenette. He opened the pantry, not expecting to find anything. 

Several shelves of food stared back at him. He lifted a box of Crazy Coeurl Cookies and opened it to sniff the contents. He pulled a cookie out and nibbled. It was fresh? He checked the sell by date. 

It had expired seventy years ago. 

He checked a can of spinach. Seventy year old spinach. Everything in the cabinet had the same year printed on it. 

"Group meeting. Now." 

Prompto turned off the water and put his vest down on top of his discarded boots. He redid his belt as he walked over to the bed. 

Ignis held up the box and handed each of them a cookie. Gladio bit into his. "Mmm, this is pretty good. What's wrong with it? Or is this meeting just a picnic?"

Ignis read the sell by date out loud. Gladio swallowed with difficulty, throat suddenly dry. 

"That doesn't make sense." Noctis put his untasted cookie back into the box. 

"That proves it, this place is haunted. Let's go." Prompto stood up to retrieve his clothes. His hasty retreat was halted by Noctis' hand gripping his forearm. 

"Prom, look out the window. The storm is probably three raindrops short of a hurricane." Unique euphemism aside, Noctis spoke the truth. The rain was worse than when they had entered. 

"I still don't feel comfortable with any of this situation." Prompto was released, and he stood in place. He wanted to go shower, but now that he knew there was definitely something wrong he didn't want to undress. He felt a little silly, but taking off the Crownsguard fatigues might invite some form of attack. 

"Yeah, but this room is sweet." 

"You mean this suite is sweet, Noct." Prompto made up his mind. A quick bath wouldn't be enough time for anything bad to happen. 

The water and fragrant soap eased his mind a little. He began to hum as he calmed down. 

Damn, even the towels were heavenly. Wrapped up in a fluffy white cloud, the blond summoned his pajamas and the hair dryer from the armiger. 

After drying his hair he joined everyone else at the small table by the kitchenette. "Is that the ancient food?"

"Yes. It tastes fresh, though." Noctis was eating ravioli right out of a can. Ignis handed the blond a can of tomato basil soup. "If you'll wait a second, I can drain these unflavored ramen noodles. You can add them to the soup."

"New recipe?"

"Indeed. It is quite delicious. I ate while you were in the bathroom." The advisor handed over the drained noodles and went to go bathe. 

Gladio swallowed the last of his cup noodles. He wasn't about to experiment with other flavors. "So I tried to call Iris, but there's no reception. We're kind of stranded here."

"Not like we need to worry about not being able to call for help. Who would we even call? Iris has no way of getting here, who knows where Cor is, and Cindy would take forever to arrive." Noctis put down the now empty can. 

"Come on guys, I was just starting to calm down." Prompto pulled his knees up to his chin and hugged his legs. Ignis would've scolded him for sitting like that, ('You'll ruin the chair!') but he wasn't in the room. 

"Sorry. Just stating facts. But that's how it always is. We're always kind of stranded." Noctis rubbed his eyes with his palms. "At least I've got you three." 

The other two nodded. They would survive this the same way they survived everything else. Together. 

-o-

The vast blankets swallowed the four clean men. There was an arm's length of space between them all, but the bed still had plenty of room. 

The light was off, the curtains were drawn to block the lightning flashes as much as possible, and Ignis had turned on some of the softest jazz from his phone's musical library. Sleep still eluded them. Even Noctis, who could fall asleep almost anywhere, was lying awake. 

Prompto scooted closer to Noctis and whispered to Ignis. "Move closer. You're so far away." Gladio heard him, and rolled over so that his back was pressed against the king's. 

The advisor lay his shoulder next to the gunner's. "All this bed space and we're huddled together like scared children..." He turned to pull the covers up to Prompto's chin. 

"I know, right? I can't wait to leave." 

"I'm starting to agree with you, Blondie. There's something definitely weird about this place." Noctis closed his eyes. Sleep was finally deciding to grace him with its glorious presence. 

"Quiet. I'm trying to count tonberries and your chatter is throwing me off."

"Goodnight to you too, big guy." Prompto snuggled into the covers. Being sandwiched between Noctis and Ignis reassured him that he was safe, they were safe, everything was okay. 

For now.


	2. Chapter 2

Prompto wasn't sure what woke him. Was it the loss of Ignis' arm around his waist when the advisor went to the bathroom? Was it the sudden pressure of Noctis squeezing the blond closer to his chest while fighting some unseen nightmare? 

In any case, he was now awake. He lay there trapped against the king, listening to Gladio's snoring and Ignis digging around in the cupboards. After five minutes he needed to get up. It wouldn't do to wet the bed, no matter how freaky this hotel was. He carefully wiggled out from under Noct's arm. 

Prompto exited the bathroom and peeked through the thick curtains. Light rainfall tickled the earth. Yes! This would be safe enough to travel in!

"Oh, you're up. Would you mind helping with breakfast? I found some oatmeal." Ignis walked back to the compact stove with his newly appointed sous chef. 

-o-

Dressed, fed, and belongings gathered, the four men exited 3A. 

"Goodbye, amazing bed." Noctis sighed. Every other mattress would forever be subpar. 

They walked down the stairs, only three flights this time. No strange never ending steps now. Had they imagined it yesterday?

The front desk was still empty, their gil right where they left it. Noctis placed the room key next to the guest book after signing them out. 

Gladio opened the front doors. They all froze. Quite literally. 

It was snowing. 

Heavily. 

"B-b-b-ut it w-was just raining-g-g???" Prompto shivered as Gladio shut the door. 

"It's already the end of April, snowing now is unheard of...?" Ignis ushered them all away from the entrance. 

"What do we do now? Any ideas?" Noctis looked at his friends. 

"Should we go back upstairs?" Prompto figured they could at least wait in the nice room instead of this creepy entrance hall. 

"Well, that room is giving false weather reports. We should probably wait on the lowest floor so we can see what's going on." Gladio buttoned up his shirt. That's when they all knew things were really messed up. 

Prompto grabbed their room key as Noctis walked around the desk to the wall of keys. He picked up 1L at random. Ignis was bent behind the front desk, looking for something. "Here we are. Staff keys. We now have access to..." He read each of the keys' engravings. "Broom closets, the ballroom, the kitchens, staff break room, and the main office." 

"Where are all of those rooms?" Gladio looked down the hallway on the left. He could see several doors. "How am I supposed to know? I arrived the same time you did." Ignis gently chided him. Being a genius did not grant him omniscience. 

The party crept past crumbling vases and rotting end tables. The hall eventually led them to 1L. The door swung open to reveal the room. 

This room looked like the entrance hall. The curtains hung off of the rod, which had partially fallen down. The bed looked like it would collapse if they poked it. The light switch did nothing, and their flashlights made the room look eerier. Holes in the floorboards made navigating the room almost impossible. None of the men bothered to walk in anyway. 

Noctis closed the door. "Let's go back upstairs." 

They began the trek up the stairs. 

The stairs that stopped at the second floor. "Where's the third floor?" Noctis put a hand on the wall where the stairs should've continued. 

Prompto read a notice that was now posted under the 'Second Floor' engraved plate. It definitely wasn't there last night...

"Coming Soon! Brand new deluxe suites. Perfect for honeymoons, business visits, and a grand old time. Construction starts next month." The poster date for projected construction completion was seventy five years ago. 

"Guys... Let's just brave the snow." He stuck his hands in his pockets and felt only his phone and his camera. Where was the key for 3A?

Prompto hugged his arms closer to his body. This place kept getting freakier and freakier. 

"I've come up with a theory." They all looked at Ignis. "This entire hotel looks like time forgot about it. We've encountered nobody, the weather is fluctuating wildly. The stairs that didn't end, but now end too soon. The room we stayed in, the brand new room and the entire third floor, is gone." He paused to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. 

His friends stared and waited for him to continue. 

"We are stuck in some sort of time loop."

"Like that dungeon with the crumbling rocks and ceiling of water?" Prompto shuddered as he remembered that particular struggle. 

"Precisely. We should walk around until either the weather is okay to travel in or the third floor returns. Hopefully our previous quarters will have stayed as we first experienced it."

"And if the room returns in a state of deterioration?" Gladio folded his arms. Somebody had to play the role of pessimist, they needed to be prepared for anything. 

"Then we check the other rooms. One of them is bound to appear at a point in time when it was habitable." Ignis nodded to himself. Yes, hopefully he had this figured out. 

"Then we'll need all the room keys." Noctis went to start down the stairs when Prompto's unsure voice stopped him. 

"Shouldn't there be a master key? Hotels usually have one of those, right? So the staff can clean and stuff..." 

Ignis checked the key ring he had taken. "Our best bet would be the main office." 

New destination in mind, all four walked down to the first floor hall. Surely an office would be on a lower floor? 

-o- 

They had started hearing whispering three doors ago. 

It tickled the edges of their awareness at first, and was dismissed as the wind almost immediately. But by the time they reached a large set of doors that said 'Ballroom' the voices were a bit too loud to ignore. How long was this hall anyway?

"Guys..."

"I hear it too, Prompto. Maybe we're not alone after all?" Noctis saw that this suggestion did nothing to stop Prompto's growing panic. In fact, it seemed to make it worse. 

"There's no way anyone alive would willingly come to the ballroom..." He gulped, remembering the night he and Noctis had watched that film about the ronins. The ghost ballroom fight now seemed a little... believable. He tried not to think of how the protagonist had lost his arm to a daemon. 

Noctis put his hands on his friend's shoulders, forcing him to look directly at his face. "We are going to be okay." Noctis wasn't very convincing, because he was remembering the same movie scene. 

Ignis sighed. He grabbed one of Noctis' hands off of a trembling shoulder. He clasped Prompto's hand in his other. He signaled for Gladio to mirror his position and complete the circle. The shield complied. 

"We will be fine." And that was that, because Ignis was always right. The younger men nodded, shaking a little less. 

Gladio opened the ballroom doors, ready to summon a shield. There was no need. 

Wispy afterimages glided across a pristine marble floor. Beautiful dresses swished as tuxedos twirled them in a waltz. The instruments played themselves, and the overlapping conversations were impossible to distinguish. The chandelier made everything glow a brilliant gold. 

"A scene from the past..." Ignis stepped forward. The king, advisor, and shield were awestruck. The gunner was not. It was breathtaking, but it still screamed danger. He seemed to be the only one who heard that scream though. 

"Shouldn't we leave? I mean, parties are great and all, but, uh, I'm not sure we were invited to this... ghost dance." Prompto backed into Ignis, who had been moving further into the room. He sighed. "Of course we're going to come in. Why wouldn't we?"

"Come on, Prom. We're stuck here anyway. Might as well figure out what's going on." Noctis dragged his friend onto the edge of the dance floor. "May I have this dance?" 

Prompto rolled his eyes and grinned. "How could I say no to such a handsome prince?" 

Noctis spun him around and around until he lost his grip. The dizzy blond tumbled to the floor. "You're not a bad dancer!" The king laughed at his brother. 

"Hahaha, help me up! Whoa, everything's spinning. Why'd you twirl me so fast?" 

"It's not just you." Noctis reached out and grabbed Prompto off of the floor. He hauled him up and over to where Ignis and Gladio had been watching them by the giant banquet table. All four men crouched and stared as the ballroom shifted. 

There was phantom gunfire bursting through the doors. The dresses and tuxedos ran, knocking each other over in their attempt to escape. The voices were screaming, and one word was clear as day. 

'Magitek! Magitek!'

All the party saw was the bullets flying through the air, mowing down the frightened clothing. Ignis shoved Prompto under the tablecloth and crawled in after, dragging Noctis along with one arm. Gladio scrambled under, careful not to knock their impromptu protection over. 

The tablecloth blocked their view, but not the sounds. The attack continued, and several minutes passed before the unmistakable and deafening crash of glass rang out. 

Silence. Unbearable silence for five whole minutes before Gladio lifted the edge of the tablecloth to peek. 

The chandelier was no more. The entire ballroom floor was coated with glass shards. All the phantoms and bullets were gone. 

They crawled out from under the table. "Can we leave now?" Prompto tried to keep the fear out of his voice. 

"Let's check the front door again." Even Ignis sounded shaky. 

They were eight feet, a mere eight foot distance from the doors when the marble began to crack. "Run!" Noctis' shouted command was unnecessary, they were already moving faster. 

"Everyone okay?" Prompto lay panting outside the ballroom doors. 

"Define okay." Noctis pushed sweaty hair out of his eyes. 

"Well, you two are obviously fine. Gladio? ... Gladio???" Ignis turned to look behind them. Seeing no sign of their powerhouse he ran back to the doorway. There was a large hole in the floor. The advisor peered over the edge. "GLADIO??"

"DOWN HERE! I'M OKAY! I'LL FIND A WAY UP!" 

"I'm going down there. He'll need help, and two flashlights will be better than one." Noctis prepared to warp strike, but the advisor stopped him. 

"Meet us in the front hall. And do be careful." Ignis didn't like this plan one bit, but he couldn't leave their oldest brother stuck down there alone. 

"You two be careful too." He squeezed the hand gripping his arm. Noctis nodded at Prompto. "Prom, keep Ignis out of trouble for me, will ya?"

"Got it. Bring him back, Noct." 

Noctis warped into the inky darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Prompto and Ignis walked away from the ballroom feeling extremely heavy. 

"I said not to split up. Didn't I say that, Iggy? But no, this stupid hotel couldn't resist separating us."

Ignis sighed. "You did say that. And I agreed. But it couldn't be helped. At least we're in pairs and nobody's alone."

"Don't jinx us! Something could still happen." An engraved plate caught the gunner's eye. 'Main Office'. "Hey, we found it! Maybe the master key is inside?"

Ignis dug out the key ring and unlocked the office door. Papers were strewn everywhere. Bills, newspapers, letters, and ripped envelopes coated the floor. A cork board on the wall had pins and markers on various news articles. Frantic circles were drawn over the fine print. There was a frame on the wall. 

Prompto gingerly stepped over the papers as Ignis knelt to read a discarded letter. The frame held a news article that celebrated the hotel's opening. 

Scanning the article revealed that the building was originally a stately manor that the owner converted into a hotel to provide refuge for those fleeing Niflheim. 

He found another article that detailed more history. The hotel was highly praised and many refugees came back to work there in order to help their brethren. As it gained business it drew in different clientele. Prompto found the announcement of the luxury suites. 

Ignis handed him the letter as he walked over to the desk to look at an open business ledger. 

'Dearest Hospes, 

I pray that you are well. News of the Magitek attack has left many shaken. Indeed, at least half the town has lost relatives to those horrid mechanical soldiers. The town mayor issued-'

The letter cut off there, the rest of the page was missing. 

"It seems the attack marked the start of financial ruin." Ignis saw a lot of red, and the bills strewn around the room confirmed his theory. 

"I wouldn't want to stay here if I knew those soldiers could show up any second." Prompto held his wrist and turned back to the cork board. There was a map of the area. "Ignis, isn't there an imperial base near here? It isn't on this map." 

"The hotel was probably abandoned as soon as the base was built. I can't imagine refugees willingly coming to a place so close to one of the empire's strongholds." 

Ignis checked the desk drawers. The top one had a pistol. "Here." 

"I don't think I should bother taking it. The third floor room key disappeared from my pocket. What if the gun disappears when I try to use it?" Prompto stuck his hands in his pockets to check again. 

His fingers met cool metal. He pulled out the key. 

"I know it wasn't there before..." 

"I believe you. Wait, this might mean that the third floor has returned. Don't put the key away, lest it vanish again." 

Prompto gripped the key as the advisor continued searching through the desk. The other drawer had a key ring with two keys marked 'Basement' and 'Master', along with various office supplies. 

"Basement? If we can find this door then maybe we can help Noctis and Gladio." Ignis held the key aloft. 

"Okay. We'll meet them faster that way, right? But still..." Prompto wasn't sure if they should deviate from the plan. What if they got stuck somewhere? The other two would go the front hall and assume they'd gotten hurt. It would become a horrible mess of hide and seek. 

"In any case, we now have the master key." Ignis pulled a ball of twine out of the drawer. He fashioned two 'necklaces' with the 3A and master keys. "Thank heavens for the outdated string method of securing packages."

Prompto and Ignis put the keys around their necks. No way they wouldn't notice if they vanished now. 

The two left the office in search of their friends. 

-o-

Noctis landed next to Gladio with a grunt. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The shield had switched on his flashlight, but that only lit up the immediate area. Noctis' wasn't much help either. 

"I think we're in some kind of basement, but it's hard to see." 

"Hold on, I'm gonna... there." Noctis held up his hand, which was now engulfed in flames. His magic lit up the room and the men looked around. 

Light glistened off of shelves and boxes. A few feet from them a rack of weapons and shields lay rusting. 

Walking to the nearest shelf, Gladio pulled out a box and looked in. Canned food and military rations sat in their containers, sad at never being eaten. Noctis lifted a sword with the hand that wasn't acting as a torch. The blade separated from the handle and clattered to the floor. 

"Look at this." Gladio pointed to a cork board next to the shelves. A map was pinned up, and there were x's and lines drawn all over. 

"Battle plans." Noctis looked between the map, the provisions, and the weapons. "There's an imperial base nearby... Was this place used as a cover to fight the Niffs?"

"Well, that attack we saw in the ballroom would certainly have motivated them to fight. But why endanger the guests staying here?" Gladio scratched his head. 

"They probably didn't get many guests after the shooting. Maybe this place was a hotel before, but it definitely became a military outpost after. Come on, let's get upstairs." Noctis was eager to reunite with the other two before something bad happened. 

Walking through several shelves finally led them to a set of stairs, and at the top was a door. Through the basement door lay the kitchens. Roaches skittered away from the light of Noctis' brightly blazing fire. 

"Disgusting. They're everywhere." Noctis swallowed down the urge to vomit. 

"Guess we can't expect five star service..." Gladio stepped carefully, but he accidentally squished one. Or so he thought. The bug ran out from his foot unharmed. "These are ghosts, just like the ballroom." 

"I don't know if that's better or worse."

"Either way, we need to keep moving." Gladio clapped the younger man's back as they passed several large ovens. "Hey, don't tell me princess is afraid of bugs."

"I can handle one or two, but there's a million in here." Then he heard a tiny crunch from under his boot. "Ugh, not all of them are ghosts." He tried to open the kitchen door. "Locked. Damn, Ignis has the key ring."

Gladio walked over to a stovetop where several pans hung above. "Hey, bring the light here. I need to find the least rusty of these." 

Noctis complied, and watched as Gladio slammed the pan over the door handle. It ripped out of the wood, and splinters rained against the shield's Lucian battle gear. 

"Good thing you closed your shirt, huh?"

"Eh, I'm already scarred. What's a few more, right?" He grinned lopsidedly at the king. 

They walked out of the kitchens and turned down the hall. 

-o-

"Ignis? Do you hear dripping?"

They had found the staff break room, and had entered in hopes of finding floor plans. The advisor figured that the staff would've kept a chart of who would clean what room. 

A large drop of cold water fell onto his glasses. "Yes." He removed the spectacles to clean them as he stepped away from the splash zone. 

Prompto held up a book that had been laying on the table in the center of the room. "Let's see, uh... 'Remember to lock the doors after cleaning, third time this week rooms were left open' ... 'Staff caught removing soap bars will be put on probation' ... 'Do not comment on guest's hotness or notness'?"

"Employee communication log, most likely." The glasses were returned to his face. 

"Hehe, here's a good one. 'Vulpes, it is not appropriate to tell couples in the honeymoon suite that the best birth control is to leave the lights on.' Aw man, how was this guy not fired?"

Ignis would have replied, but the ceiling began actively showering him. "Ugh, we had to enter this room in the time period with plumbing problems." He tried to move out of the stream, but the water began pouring from several points in the ceiling. He was soaked, and his hair melted over his eyes. 

Prompto put down the book and started towards the door. "I don't think we'll find anything in here." He managed to avoid getting saturated, but a few stubborn drops of water clung to the edges of his hair. 

They closed the door and shook off as much water as possible. It was no use. Ignis was just going to have to change. 

He was about to summon his clothes from the armiger when phantom gunfire rang out. For the second time that day Ignis shoved Prompto towards safety. "Run!" 

"Another magitek attack!?" Prompto turned the corner and glanced back. "Ignis!?" He should've been right behind him! What happened!? Prompto peeked around the corner. There was no sign of the older man and the gunfire had stopped completely. 

It was silent and he was alone. 

The already dim electric lights blinked out. 

"I-I-Ignis??? Where are you? Come on, this is not the time for horseplay!" He flicked on his flashlight and spoke aloud in the hopes that Ignis would hear him and answer. "Yay, I can see a foot in front of me. Okay, keep it together, I can do this... Just gotta find everyone. Not so hard." Except he had no idea which way to go. 

Back to the front hall, like they had originally planned? Should he look for the basement, where Gladio and Noct were probably still trapped? Or back around the corner where he had lost Ignis? 

Oh, this was bad. 

Prompto tried to control his breathing as he walked back around the corner. If he slowly made his way to the front hall then maybe he would run into Ignis. 

"Glaadiiiiooo? Noooooooocctt!? Iiiiiiigggggnnnniiiiissss!!!" 

He stopped yelling. What if he somehow alerted the magitek of his presence? Prompto yelped as he kicked something. 

It was just a broken vase. A sigh of relief passed his lips. 

He remembered how the employee log had mentioned unlocked doors. Prompto tried every doorknob he crept past. Twelve doors, no luck. "Come on, lucky thirteen? Yes!" 

He stepped into the room. It was clean and intact, but more importantly the light switch worked. Alright! He could get out of the oppressive darkness for a little while. He left the door open in case Ignis walked by. 

Prompto hoped that exiting this room would trigger something from the past that would reunite him with his older brothers. He sat down on the bed. They had been walking, running, and climbing stairs all morning and he was so tired. And hungry. Being terrified really works up an appetite. 

He checked his phone. 12:27. Alright, a five minute rest for his feet and then back to searching. Prompto noticed the clock sitting on the night table. It read 8:05. 

A phantom dress walked out of the bathroom, carrying a onesie. Prompto froze. The dress set the onesie up by the pillows and sat down on the bed right next to him. Lovely singing filled the room, but the blond couldn't understand any of the words. 

He felt... heavy??? And so exhausted... He tried to stand up. But his legs wouldn't cooperate. No, no naptime for him! "I need to find everyone!" The ghost mother didn't hear him and continued singing her child to sleep. 

Prompto was aware of his head hitting the bed, but he was powerless to stop sleep from taking him. 

=========================

The gunner slowly left dreamland. 

The spectral mother and child were gone. Sitting up, he pulled out his phone to see how long he'd been unconscious. 12:32. No way that was right, surely he'd been sleeping longer than five minutes? The clock on the night stand said he'd been asleep for thirty five minutes. 

He hoped the phone was right, because if he had been missing for over a half hour then Noctis was probably worried. No, all of them would be worried. Prompto knew he was certainly worried. 

Okay, enough worrying! Time to find everyone! Prompto stood up and stepped back into the dark hallway. After a couple of shaky steps he began to hear squelching. The blond tried to be as quiet as possible. 

The odd, soft squish squish grew a little louder. It was moving towards him! Prompto ran in what he thought was the opposite direction. He didn't want to encounter this new horror, what with all the ghost magitek and hypnotically singing hotel guests. He just wanted to reunite with everyone. 

Suddenly something was grabbing him, dragging him back with cold, wet arms and a clammy hand was over his mouth squeezing painfully tighter and tighter, silencing his panicked whimpers and the arm around his waist was preventing escape and his struggling did nothing and now there's eerie whispering by his ear!!!!! 

"Prompto shhh! It's me! Calm down! Quiet, it's just me! Prompto, stop. Ow, don't stomp on my foot!"

Ignis!? 

Prompto stopped trying to escape. As the advisor felt the blond sag against his body he loosened his grip and let go of the younger man's mouth. Prompto twisted around to hug Ignis. 

"Where did you go!? And why did you-" 

"Shhh! Not so loud, there was something singing around here. It might be a trap. I passed an open door, but there was nothing inside. Still, we need to be wary."

"It's just a bedtime lullaby from the past. I, uh, accidentally fell asleep listening to it. But seriously, where did you go? And how long were we separated?" Prompto figured it couldn't have been as long as the clock had said because Ignis was still soaking wet. 

"Ten minutes at most. I turned the corner and you had vanished. I tried backtracking, but I must've been caught in a loop because I passed the same five doors over and over. After what was surely the eleventh time passing 1G I noticed a strange melody. It stopped, and you came barreling out of the dark. Did you even see me?"

"No, I just heard squelching. I guess that was your shoes, huh?"

"Precisely." He gave an example stomp. Sure enough, there was a distinctive squishing sound. "My apologies for grabbing you like that, but you didn't respond when I called you."

"Yeah, you sure freaked me out. Glad to have you back though."

They walked down the hall. Before turning around the corner Prompto grabbed Ignis' sleeve. "Maybe if we're connected we won't get stuck in different time zones again." Ignis nodded and held up his hand. The blond took it. 

Ignis gave a little squeeze to reassure Prompto that they wouldn't be separated again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Prompto? Ignis?" 

"Noct, you're sure he said front hall?"

"Of course I'm sure, I wouldn't forget something like that!" The king scowled at the older man. 

Gladio ignored him and looked down the left corridor. Nothing. He turned to look down the right one where the stairs were. 

"NOCT!"

The shield turned around to see Prompto flying at Noctis. The blond knocked Noct back a couple steps. Ignis walked behind him in a calmer fashion. 

Gladio scooped all three of them into a giant bear hug. Relieved laughter escaped each man. "Everyone okay?"

The younger males all confirmed their wellbeing. 

"Let's get the hell out of here." Noctis marched towards the door. 

The blizzard was still going strong. A powerful gust of wind smacked him in the face. "Damn." He closed the door and turned to face everyone. "Let's grab blankets from one of the rooms and just huddle together until we get to the car."

-o-

They had checked three rooms on the bottom floor, hand in hand. For some reason Prompto and Ignis insisted that they all stay connected. Something about getting lost in different time zones. 

In any case, all the rooms were appearing in states of decay, and the threadbare blankets would not be enough protection from the snowy winds. 

Right. Back upstairs. All of the floors decided to be present when the team reached the second floor. They continued climbing to their previous quarters. 

The 3A key still hung from the twine Prompto had been wearing. He pushed the key into the lock. 

The once fabulous room was now a land mine of ceiling pieces and debris. It was kind of saddening to know that the luxury suite was reduced to a rubble pile. 

Gladio maneuvered over everything and pulled the hole filled quilt off of the bed. Standing in the hallway, they all grabbed a corner and shook off as much dust and plaster as they could. 

"Fold it, so we can all use it like a cloak. That should trap our body heat in and keep the snow out." 

They followed Ignis' instructions. 

The makeshift cloak covered all four men from their shoulders to their ankles. Good enough. 

Holding the blanket, the party returned to the front hall. They huddled under their barrier and stepped into the snowstorm. 

White. As far as the eye could see, white blanketed everything. Keeping their heads down they waded through the ankle deep snow. The wind nipped at exposed faces. 

"Noct, d-d-did you c-c-c-cast blizzag-g-g-ga?" 

"Haha P-P-PPrompto, v-very f-f-fun-n-ny..." 

"You d-d-don't n-need to b-be so c-c-cold, H-H-Highness-s." Ignis' breath was fogging up his glasses and it was very hard to see. 

"Th-This is why I l-l-love you g-g-guys. We're ab-b-bout to d-die of fr-rostb-b-bite and you're m-m-making puns-s." Gladio pulled the blanket so it was tighter over all of them. 

Noctis glanced up to see how far away the car was. A familiar figure stood a short distance in front of the Regalia. 

"Gentiana??? What's going on??" As they drew closer she raised her arms. All the snow and wind stopped, before a few gentle flakes danced down. 

"The Oracle has long prayed for the safety of her king. The Stormsender's wrath inadvertently threatened the wellbeing of the chosen and his valiant knights." Gentiana paused and lifted a hand to gesture to the manor. "Ripped from time to provide shelter, this manor served its purpose." 

"You pulled this place out of time to help us?" Noctis stepped forward, letting the quilt fall as he placed a hand over his heart and bowed slightly. "Thank you. And Luna... Please tell her I thank her as well." His friends murmured their gratitude and bowed as well, the cloak forgotten as it tumbled to the ground. 

She was suddenly in front of Prompto, placing a hand on his shoulder. He felt a blanket of peace settle over him, almost like snow falling to the ground. But he wasn't shivering as ferociously as before. 

"Sincerest apologies for all confusion and panic. Time does not bend to my whim, for it is not mine to fully command." She smiled softly at the blond, moving her hand from his shoulder to his cheek. He grinned back sappily, frozen with the sense of pure serenity she radiated. 

"So the eerie occurrences were just fluctuations in this building's timeline?" Ignis' confirmation of his theory snapped Prompto out of his trance. He stepped back awkwardly, bringing his hand to his cheek with a slight shiver. Gentiana was already turning to the advisor and did not react to Prompto's sudden distance. He tripped over the cloak, but managed to avoid falling over. 

"That is the truth. This grand manor once provided shelter to numbers of lost souls, the passage of time became harsh and greedy. Abandoned to the elements, assaulted by monsters, deterioration proved inevitable, swift."

"Why tell us this now? Why not earlier?" Gladio uncrossed his arms. He didn't want to appear ungrateful, but he was genuinely curious as to why they had been in the dark so long. 

"A trial of fortitude and companionship, passed with unwavering loyalty. The king will succeed in his quest, his knights beyond compare."

All four men thanked her sheepishly. Beyond compare, huh?

"Go forth, your journey has not yet reached its end." She stepped aside so they could walk to the car. 

Noctis looked back to Gentiana. Or rather, where she had been. 

"I'll never get used to her just disappearing when I blink." Prompto shook his head. He pulled out his camera to take a picture of the hotel. When he looked at the display he saw a blue blur flying above the manor. 

Ignis removed sandwiches from the cooler in the trunk. He had made and wrapped them two days ago in case of emergency. Now seemed like a good time to eat them. 

"I'm sure everyone is as famished as I am, seeing as we didn't have lunch." He distributed the food, and it tasted like ambrosia. 

As they drove away Prompto looked back. The hotel was gone.


End file.
